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Malice in Wonderland (1985 film)

1985 television film directed by Gus Trikonis

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 12, 2026
Entity authorityQ4380245 ↗
Source-derived summary

Malice in Wonderland is a 1985 American made-for-television biographical film based on the 1972 novel Hedda and Louella: A Dual Biography of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons by George Eells. Starring Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Alexander, it tells the based-on-real-life stories of powerful Hollywood gossip columnists Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons, once friends and later rivals. The film premiered on CBS on 12 May 1985. The film was a ratings success gaining an 18.3 rating equaling to 15,536,700 households tuning in its original air date.

Cast

Elizabeth Taylor as Louella Parsons

Jane Alexander as Hedda Hopper

Richard Dysart as Louis B. Mayer

Joyce Van Patten as Dema Harshbarger

Jon Cypher as Dr. Harry 'Docky' Martin

Leslie Ackerman as Harriet Parsons

Bonnie Bartlett as Ida Koverman

Thomas Byrd as William Hopper

Joel Colodner as Andy Kenderson

Rick Lenz as Iceman

Mary McCusker as Dot

John Pleshette as Tommy Gallep

Eric Purcell as Orson Welles

Tim Robbins as Joseph Cotten

Mark L. Taylor as Howard Strickling

Nancy Travis as Ann

B.J. Ward as June

Vernon Weddle as Sam Goldwyn

Allen Williams as Joel

Theodore Wilson as Collins

Jason Wingreen as Jack L. Warner

Helen Baron as Ellen

Thomas Bellin as Hotel Clerk

Denise Crosby as Carole Lombard

Robert Darnell as Heiner

Christine Dickinson as Betty

Douglas Emerson as Young Bill Harper

Edith Fields as Mrs. Washburn

Lyla Graham as Mrs. Clayton

Anne Haney as Dema's Secretary

Mindi Iden as Starlet

Leigh Kavanaugh as 2nd Journalist

Amelia Laurenson as Elizabeth Arden

Galen Thompson as Hal

Jan Tříska as Mike Romanoff

Keith Walker as Albert

Gary Wayne as Clark Gable

Noni White as 1st Journalist

Craig Richard Nelson as Radio Producer

Crew

Director as Gus Trikonis

Producer as Jay Benson

Music as Charles Bernstein

Cinematographer as Philip H. Lathrop

Film Editing as Allan Jacobs

Production Designer as[John D. Jefferies Sr.

Costume designer as Nolan Miller

Home media

Malice in Wonderland was released on Region 1 DVD on June 28, 2004 with a running time of 94 minutes.

Editorial summary

“Malice in Wonderland (1985 film)” enters the record as 1985 television film directed by Gus Trikonis. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Malice, Wonderland and film can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1985, 1972, 2004—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1985-01-01. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Malice, Wonderland and film.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Malice in Wonderland (1985 film)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Malice, Wonderland and film provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4380245. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1985, 1972 and 2004.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Malice in Wonderland (1985 film)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Malice in Wonderland (1985 film) primary sources, Malice in Wonderland (1985 film) archive and Malice research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Malice in Wonderland (1985 film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.